Diabetes Can Shorten Your Life

Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States it affects about 26 million Americans each year. We have known for quite some time that a person with diabetes has an increased risk of heart disease: things like heart attack and stroke. But now according to new report New England Journal of Medicine there are some more disturbing statistics. Overall, people with diabetes die younger than people who do not have diabetes. This particular report looked at 820,000 people by reviewing 97 existing studies. And what they found is that diabetes can shorten average person's life by six years. To put that in perspective a person who smokes cigarettes can shorten their life by seven years. Obviously this raises concern. But it doesn't take one major fact into account. People who control their blood sugar with close measurement and medication do much better than those who do not monitor and treat their blood sugar on a regular basis. So if you're a diabetic don't be discouraged but make sure you follow up closely with your doctor and take care of the condition every day.

Dangers of Smoking

It is a well-known fact that cigarette smoking can increase the risk of lung cancer. But according to a report in the British medical Journal it can play a role in the development of breast cancer as well. A study out of West Virginia University looked at over 80,000 women and followed them for 10 years. What they found is that cigarette smokers were at a 16% greater risk for breast cancer compared to non-smokers. Even those who kick the habit were 9% greater risk. When they took a look at the effect of long-term smoking the researchers found the longer a woman smoked the greater her risk for breast cancer. Perhaps the most disturbing part of all the statistics is the fact that the increased risk continued for up to 20 years after a woman stopped smoking. If lung cancer and emphysema and heart disease were not enough reasons to quit perhaps the concern over breast cancer might be a motivation. Put simply smoking cigarettes is one of the worst things you can do for your health.

Parents Overtreating Kids for Fever: A growing Problem

Do you have fever phobia? The American Academy of pediatrics says that it is a problem in this country. Fever is one of the most common clinical symptoms in children and certainly if the temperature is elevated it can be a warning sign that there are other problems. The fever is really the bodies way to fight infection and sometimes a low grade fever is not a bad thing. However due to advertising and the ready availability of many medications to control fever there are parents who will turn to medicine when the temperature is 99.5. Many of these medications used to treat fever have side effects themselves. The Academy of pediatrics lists what they consider to be the best recommendations and obviously each case should be considered on an individual basis but over treating a fever is not a good thing. There are two groups were you must take fever is extremely seriously: in children under three months of age and those who have chronic disease. I am not saying to ignore fever but think about how quickly you turn to medications and if you have questions talk with your physician.

When The Internet Was Young

I came across this "commercial break" conversation from the 1994 "Today Show" and it puts things into persepective as to how far we have come in the world of technology.
When I consider the hours I am putting into order sets and electronic medical records it makes me smile to think of simple days:

Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUs7iG1mNjI

Enjoy. The irony is that I worked for that program two years later and probbaly knew as little as they did!

A Positive Report about Video Games--For Once!!

Videogames don't get the greatest press when it comes to health reports. Think about it there usually associated with violence , poor grades or some sort of negative image. But there is actually a positive story about videogames...at least when it comes to girls. According to a new study of 287 video gameplaying teens between the ages of 11 and 16 those who played with their parents actually have a positive outcome. Besides the fact they probably beat their parents and I'm willing to bet on that one the actually had increases in communication. Playing age-appropriate games with parents had a positive effect on girls who reported a high level of parent connectedness they had lower levels of internalization of emotion and lower aggressive behavior. Now there was a downside. If girls played games that they perceived as inappropriate for their age with their parents they experienced a high rate of internalization of emotion and negative feelings. Now you might be wondering about boys. According to the study playing with parents as very little effect

Don't Ignore Heartburn

Heartburn is a health issue. It's a health issue that's not going away and that's going to be a problem, but the thing about heartburn that I think is very important is understanding that it can be the sign of a longer-lasting problem. What you have to realize is if you have heartburn and you get over-the-counter treatments, and it's not getting better, you need to get yourself evaluated and looked into so that you get a closer analysis and evaluation of the problem.

What Next For Representative Giffords?

We have learned more about the injury to Rep. Giffords. The bullet entered from the back of the skull on the left side and went straight through to the front remaining on the left side. She was rushed to the operating room and the surgeons removed bone fragments and some brain tissue. Of course the big questions are how do they think she will do will she respond will she return to normal? There is no one who can predict this at this point. What they are trying to do right now is preserve as much brain function as possible. One of the ways they're doing this is by removing part of the skull. This is because when pressure builds the skull won't contain it and lead to brain damage. The representative is in a medical induced coma. Her progress will be measured in weeks months and even years down the road

Nursing Shortages..Shortages All Around

If you've been a patient in a hospital in recent years, if you work in a hospital, or if you keep up with the want ads, you probably know there is a nursing shortage. Hospitals have problems because of the shortage and there are other issues like increases in the number of patients, there's personal time, and there's leave of absences. In addition to that, it isn't just nurses. There are other staff members where they do not have enough people to staff a hospital. Add onto this the financial worries that many hospitals have, the fact that some hospitals are run as a business and others aren't, and you realize that if you're a patient, you're not necessarily sure always what kind of care your going to get because there's so much variety in how it's approached. My personal view is you need to check out your hospital and see if it's a place you want to be before you're sick. You need to examine how patients are treated and evaluate them. It's a very important step.

As we head into mid summer....

I probably don’t talk about it enough, but one of the major problems for people is that they don’t take their blood pressure medication over a lifetime. When they don’t take it, they can get heart failure or a weak heart. Now, there are other causes of heart failure. One of the most important is a heart attack which can damage the heart and affect the way it pumps. But, the wear and tear of high blood pressure can definitely weaken the heart. According to a study out of Northwestern University in Chicago, there is one time when high blood pressure may be a good thing and that is during those brief periods of time when there is a stressful event. That’s because the elevation, basically, can show how the heart responds to stress. If it can, it means the heart can be damaged and perhaps incapable of a response. Now, what I think is very important is, if you want to take blood pressure medication, that you understand what you’re taking and how it works

A Weapon That Could Hurt Us?

A disturbing report from Kyota University, in Japan, where researchers have been measuring levels of a chemical called oseltamivir carboxilate or OC. They’ve been measuring it in streams. Now why is that an important chemical, well, OC is the active ingredient in Tamiflu. The researchers have been measuring this in streams because they have been trying to see if people are actually excreting the by-product of Tamiflu. It’s going in the sewage system and into streams. The answer is yes, the levels are up because it can’t effectively be filtered in a sewage treatment plant. Now, here’s the problem, birds come in and drink from these streams. They’re actually getting protected from some different strains of the flu. The fear is that resistant strains could develop, flu virus could change and mutant in these birds and cause bigger problems down the road. In other words, the weapon that we’re using to help us in the battle against H1N1 could ultimately hurt us.

World Trade Center Tragedy Revisited

I remember as if it was yesterday. Christie Todd Whitman, who was with the Environmental Protection Agency, was essentially telling New Yorkers not to worry, the air was clean after the World Trade Center collapse and in the days following it. Even I, from a distance, knew this can’t be right. There’s too much particulate matter. What we’re finding now is that my suspicions, and the suspicions of many, are in fact true. It’s called World Trade Center Cough and a study out of Mount Sinai in New York showed that 70% of recovery workers who responded to Ground Zero on September 11 have reported lung problems. Now of course, thousands of workers are suing New York and its contractors for issues like sinusitis, cancer and other ailments. If you have particulate matter in the air, that particulate matter can affect you at all levels. For more information on this check www.mymedicalreports.com

Healthy Diets and Environment

It is well known that one of the biggest obstacles to eating a healthy diet is access to healthy foods. For people who live in urban areas and struggling with finances the problem is even greater because many health foods are quite a bit more expensive. Dr Kelley Borradaile is an Assistant Professor of Public Health at Temple University and her new study in the Journal Pediatrics takes a look at the fact that not only are there fewer supermarkets, but many of the foods offered in the corner grocery store are higher in trans fats. Her theory is that poor food options could be a leading risk factor for childhood obesity. This is a key issue because childhood obesity leads to more serious health problems down the road including heart disease and diabetes.
For more information check www.mymedicalreports.com

Kids and Teeth

When’s the last time you took your children for a dental exam? When children are young, they really need to have their teeth examined. Not just for things like braces, but they also have to have dental hygiene looked at. You have to find out whether or not they’re developing bacterial infections. Whether or not there are other issues that can be treated so that long-term, these children can keep their teeth. Most children will get cavities at one point or another, and you have to have the cavities evaluated and filled so that they’re actually taken care of. All these things need to be evaluated and dealt with.

Good Old Dark Chocolate

We have talked about this quite often. Does dark chocolate help protect the heart, and if it does, why? As you know, there have been numerous reports looking at this. A new study out of Yale has some very interesting findings. According to the researchers, dark chocolate may also boost the function of vital endothelial cells that line the inside of blood vessels. Cocoa is rich in a group of antioxidant compounds called flavanoids which are also found in fruits and vegetables, wine, and green tea. It is the flavanoids which protect the heart.
For more information check www.mymedicalreports.com

Silent Heart Attacks Can And Do Occur

In four out of nine people who have had mild heart attacks, the event goes undetected. That's because patients do not recognize or dismiss the symptoms. Those most likely not to know they've had a heart attack are women, particularly those who are overweight, diabetics, and the elderly. The problem is people don't know when they are at risk for future problems if they don't know they had a heart attack in the first place. Now these findings are based on a study of 4000 men and women in the Netherlands. Of course, chest pain is the most common, but by no means the only sign that suffers notice. Other symptoms can occur, such as shoulder pain, jaw pain, arm pain and excessive sweating. People who have had a heart attack make certain lifestyle changes that can prevent future heart attacks. That's why it's important to know.

Top Ten List...No, Not David Letterman's Top Ten

I’m not a big fan of lists. They can be overwhelming and very often boring. But, some lists are better than others because they provide a window into our health. Here’s an example. A survey of family physicians revealed the top ten diagnoses they made last year and it can tell you what bothers most women. Number ten, urinary tract infections. Number nine, sore throats. Routine physicals is eight. Depression, seven. Bronchitis, six. Sinusitis is five. Upper respiratory infections four, and the third most frequent diagnosis? Elevated lipids. Number two diabetes. Number one? High blood pressure.
For more information about all of these health issues and more check http://www.mymedicalreports.com/

The Mediterranean Diet Make Sense

There has been a great deal of news lately surrounding the Mediterranean diet. We know that this diet is definitely a big help when it comes to fighting heart disease and there are numerous reports that it can increase life expectancy. But, recently there have been several reports looking at whether it helps prevent Alzheimers Disease. The debate goes back and forth and certainly there has been some groundbreaking work from Columbia University looking into the matter. But, I think it is time to make a common sense point. No doubt, there is great reason to continue studies and to research this issue but while we are doing this research and learning more we should still take advantage of the other health benefits of this diet. If there is a decrease in Alzheimers that is yet another advantage.
If you want more information on this diet check out http://www.mymedicalreports.com/ and search "mediterranean diet".

Is It Time For Tougher Laws on Texting?

Driving Under The Influence of alcohol or drugs of any kind should be punished and punished severely. I think most of us have no problem at all agreeing with that statement, but there is a potential cause of severe accidents that put us all at risk that are much more difficult to manage. The problem: texting on a cellphone. If you think about it, in the time it takes someone to either dial a number manually or glance down at a text message and fire off an answer, a major tragedy can occur. But, are we willing to take the license of a teenager or adult businessperson texting a message? Are we willing to pass a severe blanket law banning texting and are we willing to take the time and effort to track those messages and defend a case? If you don't use the texting feature yourself, the odds are that your children use it. It is very difficult to ignore a beep or ring of a message coming to the phone. All it takes is one look down to read the message and you can imagine the potential tragedy. It seems stiff regulations with punishment are steps worth taking, but will we?

The Start of School is "Around the Corner"

The start of school is not that far off, and certainly there will be the same old challenges we all faced with reading, writing and arithmetic. Of course, many kids today have to deal with far more than that. There is a growing pressure for students to find that "perfect" college --or even high school in some cases. Overzealous parents are "guiding" their children through sports with the outside hope that a scholarship may be in the future. Put simply, many of the things that children used to do for fun are being targeted as "opportunities" for success. As any parent will tell you, these are traps which are easy to fall into. Before you get into the rush of the start of the school year sit back and take a moment to put things into perspective. What is it that you really want for your child? Certainly, success is important but success has many measures including happiness. As you think about this you may also want to take time to speak with a grandparent or another parent with older children. They have usually been down this road and may have some helpful tips from the point of perspective.
If you would like more information on this subject or a wide variety of back to school issues just click http://www.mymedicalreports.com/ and use the search engine.

Concerning News About HIV

There is a great deal of attention being paid to the discovery of a new strain of HIV and certainly this is important, but it is not unexpected. HIV is a retrovirus and a retrovirus has the ability to mutate quite easily. This ability to a mutate or change means that for a wide variety of reasons it can adjust to what is perceived as a threatening environment. We can expect it to change many more times. What may be more concerning came from the same report. This is news that people with herpes virus (millions of people) are more likely to come down with HIV when exposed. Now, we have known for more than fifteen years that if there is an open lesion from Herpes, HIV may have easier access but his latest report found it has nothing to do with an open wound. Just a history of herpes is necessary. I know many want to live in denial and minimize the dangers of HIV, but it is still around and stronger than ever. For more information check http://www.mymedicalreports.com/